Historically, raw or frozen fish of various species has been the preferred bait for lobster and crab fishing. Such raw or frozen fish bait is expensive and makes inefficient use of raw materials. In addition, such prior art baits have a detrimental impact on the land and marine environments. To obtain such prior art bait, the fish once caught must be frozen to preserve the bait characteristics. This freezing process requires large amounts of fuel and electrical power. The frozen fish requires cold storage, transport by refrigerated trucks, and freezers on board the boats, all of which consume more fuel. Inevitably, there will be spoilage of the frozen bait, as the raw fish is easily contaminated.
Another negative aspect of using raw fish as bait is the resulting depletion of fish stocks used for bait. In the absence of raw fish bait, some are contemplating the use of chemical products as bait. The present invention is intended to provide a natural source of bait which avoids the use of artificial alternatives and preserves the environment.
One alternate to raw fish bait has been pellet bait produced from fish byproducts. Although pellet bait is 100% natural and has demonstrated successful use in the prawn fisheries, the pellet form has not been consistently successful for lobster and crab fisheries when used in the deep colder water areas such as those found on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Canada and the United States of America. This likely is due to the way the pellets are manufactured, as well as the binding properties of a pellet. The pellets are made under high heat and high pressure, which essentially cooks the product, resulting in a less desirable attractant value for lobster and crab when used in these lower temperature waters.
In contrast, the bait product of the present invention uses natural ingredients and the manufacturing process does not involve high heat or high pressures, thereby retaining maximum attractant properties in the bait with the highest concentration of fish content possible.